Ningbo Containerized Freight Index Weekly Commentary (9.30-10.6）

2023-10-09 11:15By： MSRI

Shipping capacity reduced significantly, and the composite index has stopped falling and stabilized

Ningbo Containerized Freight Index: In the week ending Oct-6, Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) issued by Ningbo Shipping Exchange (NBSE) quotes 593.8 points, slightly up by 0.8% against last week. Meanwhile, eleven of the selected twenty-one routes maintain an upward trend while other ten have fallen. In addition, according to the freight indices of the primary ports along the Maritime Silk Road, ten ports appear a constant rising tendency while other six are declining.

Europe and Mediterranean routes: Although the carriers has arranged for some voyages to be temporarily suspended, the overall transport capacity was still surplus compared with the transportation demand. The market freight rates on the Europe and Mediterranean routes continued to fall, while the Mediterranean routes remained stable. This week, freight index in the route from Ningbo-Europe quotes 354.9 points, down by 2.1% from one week ago. Freight indices in the routes from Ningbo to East Mediterranean and West Mediterranean quote 558.4 points and 650.9 points, reducing by 2.0% and having a decrease of 0.5% against last week respectively.

North America route: After the holidays, carriers arranged temporary suspensions of many voyages. The fundamentals of supply and demand remained balanced, and booking prices in the spot market fluctuated steadily. This week, freight indices in the routes from Ningbo to East America and West America quote 778.8 points and 1025.9 points, slipping by 0.3% and climbing by 0.6% from one week ago respectively.

Mideast route: The shipping capacity control measures of carriers have obvious effects, and booking prices in the spot market have risen rapidly. This week, freight index in the route from Ningbo-Mideast quotes 501.0 points, having a week-on-week increase of 11.3% compared with last week.

Australia& New Zealand route: Carriers have arranged large-scale temporary suspension of sailings, and the supply of shipping space on routes has been tight. Therefore, the booking prices in the spot market have risen sharply. This week, freight index in the route from Ningbo to Australia /New Zealand route quotes 946.6 points, up by 10.5% against last week.